Transmitting display content to vehicles to render contemporaneously during a content time period with related content at a display screen

ABSTRACT

Provided are a computer program product, system, and method for transmitting display content to vehicles to render contemporaneously during a content time period with related content at a display screen. A subscription database maintains subscriber information for a subscriber, indicating display content, a content time period, a subscriber display location at which the subscriber renders subscriber content contemporaneously with the display content during the content time period, and a display boundary in which the display content is to be rendered. Vehicles are determined having a vehicle location within the display boundary of the subscriber display location. A content package is transmitted to each of the determined vehicles having the display content and the content time period to cause rendering of the display content on vehicle display screens coupled to the vehicles contemporaneously with rendering the subscriber content at the subscriber display location.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a computer program product, system, andmethod for transmitting display content to vehicles to rendercontemporaneously during a content time period with related content at adisplay screen.

2. Description of the Related Art

Vehicle mobile digital signage involves mounting a display screen on acar, typically the roof, and display advertisements while the car isdriving around. The company Ozzy Media, Inc., operating as Firefly,provides drivers Internet mounted smart screens to mount on a roof rackon their car to serve targeted advertisements to display on the mounteddigital screen based on a car's location, referred to as geo-fencing ofadvertisements. Mobile advertising on vehicles is very effective forreaching potential consumers and results in numerous impressions.

There is a need in the art for improved techniques for targeting contentto digital signage deployed on vehicles to display while the vehiclesare driving in an area.

SUMMARY

Provided are a computer program product, system, and method fortransmitting display content to vehicles to render contemporaneouslyduring a content time period with related content at a display screen. Avehicle database maintains vehicle information indicating, for eachvehicle of a plurality of vehicles, a vehicle location value. Asubscription database maintains subscriber information for a subscriber,indicating display content, a content time period, a subscriber displaylocation at which the subscriber renders subscriber contentcontemporaneously with the display content during the content timeperiod, and a display boundary in which the display content is to berendered. Vehicles are determined having a vehicle location within thedisplay boundary of the subscriber display location. A content packageis transmitted to each of the determined vehicles having the displaycontent and the content time period to cause rendering of the displaycontent on vehicle display screens coupled to the vehiclescontemporaneously with rendering the subscriber content at thesubscriber display location.

Additionally, the display content is rendered at the determined vehiclessimultaneously during the content time period with the subscribercontent rendered at the subscriber display location.

Additionally, the display content comprises first display content torender contemporaneously during the content time period with firstsubscriber content rendered at the subscriber display location andsecond display content to render contemporaneously during the contenttime period with second subscriber content at the subscriber displaylocation. The transmitting the content package causes the determinedvehicles to alternate between rendering the first display content andthe second display content to contemporaneously render during thecontent time period the first and second display content with therendering of the first and second subscriber content, respectively, atthe subscriber display location.

Additionally, the display content comprises at least one of same contentas the subscriber content formatted for rendering on the vehicle displayscreens and information supplementing the subscriber content.

Additionally, the content package causes the determined vehicles toterminate rendering the display content on the vehicle display screensin response to the determined vehicles being located outside the displayboundary.

Additionally, the subscriber information is received from the subscriberover a network. The subscriber operates a display screen at thesubscriber display location to display the subscriber content to trafficcontemporaneously during the content time period with the rendering ofthe display content at the vehicle display screens.

Additionally, the received subscriber information includes multipleinstances of display content related to multiple instances of subscribercontent and a display schedule to have the multiple instances of displaycontent rendered at the vehicle display screens contemporaneously duringthe content time period with rendering the multiple instances of thesubscriber content at the display screen at the subscriber displaylocation.

Additionally, the display schedule is processed to generate display timeinformation for each instance of the display content to cause themultiple instances of display content to be rendered at the vehicledisplay screens contemporaneously during the content time period withrendering the multiple instances of the subscriber content at thedisplay screen.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of a content distribution environment.

FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment of a content packet.

FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment of subscriber information.

FIG. 4 illustrates an embodiment of content instance information.

FIG. 5 illustrates an embodiment of vehicle information.

FIG. 6 illustrates an embodiment of a content assignment.

FIG. 7 illustrates an embodiment of operations to generate contentpackets to distribute content to vehicles to render on display screensat the vehicles.

FIG. 8 illustrates an embodiment of operations to render content fromcontent packets on a display screen coupled to the vehicle.

FIG. 9 illustrates an embodiment of operations to process a completepacket to determine fees to charge for content rendered at a vehicle.

FIG. 10 illustrates an embodiment of operations at the vehicle toprocess a signal indicating the brakes at the vehicle are applied todisplay content and a brake notification.

FIG. 11 illustrates an embodiment of subscriber information havingdisplay content to render at vehicles contemporaneously during a contenttime period with related content rendered at a display screen operatedby the subscriber.

FIG. 12 illustrates an embodiment of a display schedule to render thedisplay content with the subscriber information.

FIG. 13 illustrates an embodiment of a content packet having the displaycontent to render at vehicles contemporaneously during a content timeperiod with related content rendered at the subscriber display screen.

FIG. 14 illustrates an embodiment of operations to receive subscriberinformation having display content.

FIG. 15 illustrates an embodiment of operations to generate a contentpacket with the display content to send to vehicles to render on displayscreens at the vehicles contemporaneously during a content time periodwith related content rendered at the subscriber display screen.

FIG. 16 illustrates an embodiment of operations to render content fromcontent packets on a display screen coupled to the vehicle.

FIG. 17 illustrates a computing environment in which the components ofFIG. 1 may be implemented

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Current mobile digital signage involves providing very expensive rooftopdisplay systems to allow ads to be transmitted to the display system todisplay on the vehicle. These costs limit the ability to expand thedriver base because of the large capital outlays required to installdigital signage on the automobiles to render advertisements. Further,prior art rooftop digital display systems may have to be wired to acar's electrical system. Further, displaying ads on a side of thevehicle limits the viewership. These costs and limitations associatedwith current mobile digital advertising has limited wide scale adoptionand expansion of digital signage.

Described embodiments provide improved computer technology and systemsto distribute subscriber content to vehicles to satisfy subscriberparameters for the content. Described embodiments provide a vehicledatabase having vehicle information indicating, for each vehicle of aplurality of vehicles, a vehicle location value. A subscription databasehas subscriber information for each of a plurality of subscribers,having content instances. Each content instance indicates content, acontent time period, and a content location at which the content is tobe rendered during the content time period. For each group of contentinstances in the subscriber information for the subscribers having asame location and a content time period that begins at a current time, adetermination is made of vehicles having a vehicle location within thecontent location. For each group of content instances, a determinationis made of an assignment of the content instances to a vehicle of thedetermined vehicles. For each vehicle assigned the content instances, acontent package having content from the assigned content instances istransmitted to the assigned vehicle to cause the assigned vehicle todisplay the content on a display screen coupled to the vehicle to beviewed by people in a vicinity of the vehicle.

The described embodiments provide databases and computer technology tomatch subscriber content to vehicles that satisfy the subscribercriteria for distributing. Described embodiments form content packets totransmit content assigned to a vehicle to the assigned vehicle to renderat the vehicle. The content in the content packets may come fromdifferent subscribers, but have the same distribution criteria, such astime period, location, traffic density, etc., so that content may bebundled in one content packet to provide to one vehicle to render on adisplay screen at the vehicle to satisfy the subscriber distributioncriteria.

An additional embodiment provides improved techniques for distributingcomponents to an operator of a vehicle, including a projector, a displayscreen, and computer program stored in a mobile computing device in thevehicle. The mobile communication device may also be distributed to theoperator of the vehicle or the operator may provide the mobilecommunication device in the form of a smartphone. The display screen isattached to the interior of the vehicle to stream content from themobile computing device included in a content packet transmitted fromthe content distribution system. This allows for the wide scale adoptionof the content delivery system at vehicles by providing relatively lowcost components, including a projector, display screen, to attach to awindow, and a computer program to reduce the cost of wide scaledeployment. Further, the distributed computer programs deployed in thevehicles may enforce subscriber requirements for rendering the content,such as time period, location, and traffic density, to ensure therendering of the content on the display screen satisfies subscriberrequirements.

FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of a content distribution environmentincluding a content distribution system 100 to distribute targetedcontent over a network 102 to vehicles 104 ₁, 104 _(i) . . . 104 _(n)driving in the same or different regions. The content distributionsystem 100 comprises one or more processors 106, a main memory 108including various program components including an operating system 110,and a content distribution manager 112 to generate vehicle contentpackets 200 to transmit to motor vehicles 104 ₁, 104 _(i) . . . 104 _(n)over the network 102, where the network 102 transmits information to thevehicles 104 ₁, 104 _(i) . . . 104 _(n) over a wireless network 102. Thecontent distribution system 100 is in communication with a storage 116having a subscriber database 300 having subscriber information onsubscribers providing content to distribute to the vehicles 104 ₁, 104_(i) . . . 104 _(n) and a vehicle database 500 having vehicleinformation on vehicles 104 ₁, 104 _(i) . . . 104 _(n) registered withthe content distribution system to display content provided bysubscribers. An instance of the subscriber information 300′ from thesubscriber database 300 and vehicle information 500′ from the vehicledatabase 500 may be stored in the memory 108 for access.

The content distribution manager 112 may maintain content assignments600 providing information on content from subscribers assigned tovehicles 104 ₁, 104 _(i) . . . 104 _(n) to which the content isdistributed over the network 102.

Each vehicle 104 ₁, 104 _(i) . . . 104 _(n) may include the componentsshown in vehicle 104 _(i), including a mobile communication device 118storing a content rendering program 120 executed in the mobilecommunication device 118 to receive vehicle content packets 200 from thecontent distribution system 100 and generate content to stream to aprojector 122 to cause the display of the content on a display screen124 affixed to the vehicle 104 _(i). The mobile communication device 118further includes a Global Positioning System (GPS) 126 to determine alocation of the mobile communication device 118 and a wirelesstransceiver 128 to allow wireless communication with devices, such asBLUETOOTH®, wireless local area networking, e.g., WI-FI™, etc. Themobile communication device 118 may comprise a smartphone, a RASBERRYPI®, or other dedicated communication and processing device. The mobilecommunication device 118 may communicate with the projector 122 viawireless communication or through a cable connecting the mobilecommunication device 118 to the projector 122. In alternativeembodiments, there may be no projector 122 and the mobile communicationdevice 118 may stream content directly to the display screen 124 _(i) todirectly render. (Bluetooth is a registered trademark of the BluetoothSpecial Interest Group, WIFI is a trademark of the Wi-Fi Alliance,Rasberry Pi is a registered trademark of the Rasberry Pi Foundation).

In one embodiment the display screen 124 _(i) may be affixed to aninside of the rear window, as shown with display screens 124 ₁ and 124_(n). For instance, in one embodiment, the display screen 124 maycomprise a thin film or flexible display, such as a rollable displayscreen, a projection screen, etc. In certain embodiments, the displayscreen 124 _(i) may have an adhesive on one side to adhere to the insideof the rear window, as shown with display screens 124 ₁ and 124 _(n).Alternatively, the display screen 124 comprising a thin film display mayadhere to the window of the vehicle 104 _(i) by static cling.

The projector 122 may be affixed to an inside surface of the vehicle 104_(i) and project the streamed content onto the display screen such asthrough a projection system. In an alternative embodiment, the projector122 may be physically coupled to the display screen 124 _(i) to projectcontent to the display screen elements. In one embodiment, the displayscreen 124 _(i) may comprise a one-way transparent display to allow thedriver to see through the rear window from the inside of the car whilecontent is displayed on a surface of the display screen 124 _(i) facingoutward from the vehicle to be visible to persons external to thevehicle 104 _(i), such as a see through display, transparent LiquidCrystal Display (LCD), transparent organic light-emitting diode (OLED),etc. In thin film embodiments, the display screen 124 _(i) may compriseVistique Clear Film from Vislogix, Inc.

The vehicle 104 _(i) may further have a brake sensor 130 coupled to thebrake pedal to mechanically detect depression of the brake pedal or thebrake sensor 130 may be coupled to the vehicle 104 _(i) electricalsystem to detect when the brakes are being applied so as to cause therendering of a brake notification with the content simultaneouslyrendered on the display screen 124 _(i) to alert drivers behind thevehicle 104 _(i) that the brakes are being applied.

Further, the mobile communication device 118, projector 122, and displayscreen 124 _(i) may continue to render content to persons external tothe vehicle while the vehicle is in a parked or stopped state so thatpeople may continue to view content at the location of the vehicle.

With the embodiment of FIG. 1, the operator of the content distributionsystem 100 may provide drivers, such as ride-sharing drivers, thedisplay screen 124 _(i) and projector 122 to affix to their car. Inembodiments where the mobile communication device 118 comprises asmartphone, a driver may then download the content rendering program 120to their smartphone to use to stream content to the projector 122 tothen project onto the display screen 124 _(i). In further embodiments,the operator of the content distribution system 100 may further providethe mobile communication device 118 that is used to receive the vehiclecontent packets 200 and stream content therein to the projector 122.

The content distribution system 100 may comprise one or more servers,where the components and functions of the content distribution manager112 may be implemented in one or more servers. The vehicle 104 _(i) maycomprise any type of motor vehicle, personal vehicle, commercial, truck,bus, car, autonomously driven car, etc. The content distribution system100 may store program components and corresponding data, such as 110,112, 200, 300′, 500′, and 600 may be stored in a non-volatile storage(not shown) and loaded into the memory 104, which may comprise asuitable volatile or non-volatile memory devices, including thosedescribed above. The storage 116 may comprise a non-volatile storagesystem coupled directly to the content distribution system 100 or thecontent distribution system 100 may communicate with the storage 116over a network.

Generally, program modules, such as the program components 112, 120 maycomprise routines, programs, objects, components, logic, datastructures, and so on that perform particular tasks or implementparticular abstract data types. The program components and hardwaredevices of the content distributions system 100 and mobile communicationdevice 118 of FIG. 1 may be implemented in one or more computer systems,where if they are implemented in multiple computer systems, then thecomputer systems may communicate over a network.

The content distribution manager 112 may be accessed by the processor106 from the memory 104 to execute. The content rendering program 120may be executed by a processor in the mobile communication device 118.Alternatively, some or all of the program components 112, 120 may beimplemented in separate hardware devices, such as Application SpecificIntegrated Circuit (ASIC) hardware devices.

The functions described as performed by the programs 112, 120 may beimplemented as program code in fewer program modules than shown orimplemented as program code throughout a greater number of programmodules than shown.

The network 102 may comprise a cellular network, the Internet, etc.

FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment of an instance 200, of a content packetgenerated by the content distribution manager 112 to direct to aparticular vehicle 104 ₁, 104 _(i) . . . 104 _(n), and includes a mobilecommunication device network address 202 in a vehicle 104 _(i) to whichthe content is targeted; one or more instances of content 204 ₁ . . .204 _(n), such as video or still images; a time period 208 during whichthe content is displayed 204 ₁ . . . 204 _(n), e.g., one or more timeranges within a day, multiple days, etc.; a content location 210 withinwhich the content 204 ₁ . . . 204 _(n), is to be displayed, such as aregion or bounded area of Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinates,such as a city, township, part of town, shopping area, e.g., the GoldenTriangle of Beverly Hills, Upper East Side of Manhattan, etc., or otheridentifiable or user defend area, also known as a geo-fence. A geo-fencecomprises a geographic boundary, defined by GPS or other technology,that enables software to trigger a response when a mobile device entersor leaves a particular area; and a traffic density value 212 indicatinga traffic density, e.g., light, moderate, heavy, in which the content204 ₁ . . . 204 _(n) should be displayed. Content 204 ₁ . . . 204 _(n)instances may each be displayed for a set duration in continual loopsduring the time period 208 while the vehicle, identified by the mobilecommunication device address 202, is present within the content location210 and traffic density 212.

FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment of an instance of subscriberinformation 300 _(i) in the subscriber database 300 providinginformation on content provided by a subscriber, including a subscriberidentifier (ID) 302; one or more content instances 400 that thesubscriber 302 has transacted to have distributed to vehicles 104 ₁, 104_(i) . . . 104 _(n), to display. In certain embodiments, the subscribermay have purchased to have their content instances 400 distributed tovehicles, which may comprise advertisements or other types of contents.An online auction system, such as used with Google® ADWORDS®, may beused to enable subscribers to bid to have their content distributed tovehicles 104 ₁, 104 _(i) . . . 104 _(n), based on location, time period,and traffic density, where subscribers may pay more to have contentdistributed to more high traffic and high density locations withnumerous potential customers during time periods where potentialcustomers are likely to be present at the content location. (Google andADWORDS are registered trademarks of Google LLC throughout the world).

FIG. 4 illustrates an embodiment of a content instance 400 _(i) providedby a subscriber 302, and includes: a content identifier (ID) 402; acontent instance 404, such as a video, still image, etc.; a contentlocation value 406 indicating a region in which the content 404 is to bedisplayed, i.e., geo-fence; one or more time periods 408 during whichthe content 404 is to be displayed; a traffic density value 410indicating a traffic density in which the content 404 should bedisplayed, such as a minimum traffic density; and a priority value 412indicating a priority associated with the content 404 to be rendered,which may indicate a maximum payment the subscriber has made todistribute the content 404, such that content having a higher priorityvalue 412, higher fee paid, is preferred to transmit to vehicles 104 ₁,104 _(i) . . . 104 _(n), satisfying the criteria for rendering thecontent 404, 406, 408 over content 404 having a lower priority value ifthere is limited space available at the vehicles 104 ₁, 104 _(i) . . .104 _(n) to display the content according to the criteria 404, 406, 408for rendering content.

In further embodiments, there may be additional subscriber criteria forrendering content, in addition to location, time period, trafficdensity, and priority value.

FIG. 5 illustrates an embodiment of an instance of vehicle information5001 in the vehicle database 500 having information on the vehicles 104₁, 104 _(i) . . . 104 _(n), that have registered to stream distributedcontent, including a vehicle identifier (ID) 502; a vehicle locationvalue 504 indicating a current location of the vehicle determined from aGPS signal from the vehicle mobile communication device 118; anoperational state 506 indicating whether the vehicle is operating oroff; a traffic density value 508 indicating the traffic density at thevehicle location 504, which may be determined by contacting a trafficserver over the network 102; accrued earnings 510 indicating an amountthe vehicle operator has earned by rendering content on the displayscreen 124 _(i) of the vehicle 104 _(i); a vehicle network address 512used to communicate with the mobile communication device 118 associatedwith the vehicle 502; and content instances assigned to the vehicle 514to render during a time period.

In one embodiment, the vehicle location value 504 may be determined bythe mobile communication device 118 and transmitted to the contentdistribution manager 112. The vehicle traffic density value 508 may bedetermined by the mobile communication device 118 or contentdistribution manager 112 by sending a traffic Application ProgrammingInterface (API) with the vehicle location value 504 to a traffic servicethat provides real time traffic information.

FIG. 6 illustrates an embodiment of an instance of a content assignment600 _(i) of the content assignments 600 indicating a vehicle ID 602 of avehicle 104 ₁ (or network address of a mobile communication device 118)at which the content identified by content ID 604 is to be rendered, anda status 606 indicating whether the content was rendered or not. For anassignment 600 _(i), the vehicle attribute values, such as 504, 506, 508in the vehicle information 500 _(i), would satisfy the subscriberrendering criteria, such as 406, 408, 410 in the content instanceinformation 400 _(i) from the subscriber.

In certain embodiments, the subscriber database 300, vehicle database500, and content assignments 600 may be implemented in relationaldatabase records in one or more tables having the information fieldsdescribed in FIGS. 3, 4, 5, and 6. The databases 300, 500 andinformation 600 may also be implemented in other types of informationstores, such as an object oriented database, structured document, etc.

FIG. 7 illustrates an embodiment of operations performed by the contentdistribution manager 112 to generate content packets 200 for a currenttime period from content provided by subscribers for the current timeperiod. Upon initiating (at block 700) packet generating operations todistribute packets 200 to vehicles 104 ₁, 104 _(i) . . . 104 _(n), thecontent distribution manager 112 performs a loop of operations at blocks702 through 712 for each priority value p, from a highest priority valueto a lowest priority value. At block 704, a determination is made ofgroups of content instances 400 _(i), where each group has contentinstances with a priority value 412 of p, a time period 408 comprisingthe current time period, and a same location 406 and traffic density410. For each determined group of content instances 400 _(i), thecontent distribution manager 112 determines (at block 706) vehicleshaving an operational state 506 of operation and having a location 504and within a traffic density 508 of those 406, 410 in the group ofdetermined content instances being considered. For each determined groupof content instances for a same location 406 and traffic density 410 forwhich there are determined vehicles at the same location 504 and trafficdensity 508, the content distribution manager 112 assigns (at block 708)the group of content instances to one or more of the determined vehiclesin the determined group of content instances, where up to a maximumnumber of multiple content instances may be assigned to each vehicle.For each of the determined vehicles assigned content instances, thecontent distribution manager 112 constructs (at block 710) a contentpacket 200 including the vehicle network address 512 in field 202, thecontent 404 of the assigned content instances 400 i assigned to thevehicle, and the time period 408, location 406, and traffic density 410of the assigned content instances in fields 208, 210, and 212 of thepacket 200 _(i). If the packet 200 includes multiple content instances204 ₁ . . . 204 _(n), then the mobile communication device 118 mayalternate displaying the content for same or different durations, suchas in a round robin fashion, looping through the content 204 ₁ . . . 204_(n). The content distribution manager 112 transmits (at block 712) thecontent packets 200 _(i) to their identified mobile communication devicenetwork address 202 to render the content 204 ₁ . . . 204 _(n), on thedisplay screen 124 _(i) at the motor vehicle at which the content packet200 _(i) is received.

With the embodiment of FIG. 7, computer operations are optimized byselecting content instances to assign to vehicles and transmit to thevehicles by first assigning content instances having a highest priorityvalue so that higher priority value content instances are assigned anddistributed to the mobile communication devices 118 in the assignedvehicles 104 ₁, 104 _(i) . . . 104 _(n), before lower priority valuecontent. Further, content instances are grouped by location and trafficdensity to allow determination of vehicles having matching location andtraffic density to which the content instances are to be assigned tooptimize the assignment of content instances to vehicles. Describedembodiments provide real time calculations of location and trafficdensity for the vehicles to assign content based on current location 504and traffic density values 508 at the vehicles, as indicated in vehicleinformation 500 _(i), so that the content 404 is directed to vehiclescurrently satisfying the location 406 and traffic density 410 specifiedfor the content 404 in the content instance information 400 _(i). Inthis way, the described database information and data structuresimproves and optimizes the computer operations and algorithm to routeand assign subscriber content to mobile communication devices atvehicles to render on display screens at the vehicles.

FIG. 8 illustrates an embodiment of operations performed by the contentrendering program 120 in the mobile communication device 118 at avehicle 104 _(i) upon receiving a content packet 200 _(i) includingcontent 204 ₁ . . . 204 _(n), a time period during 208 which to displaycontent, a content location 210 in which the content instances are to berendered, and a traffic density value 212. Upon receiving (at block 800)the content packet 200 _(i), a current location of the vehicle 502 andthe vehicle traffic density value 508 may be updated (at block 802),such as from the GPS 126 in the mobile communication device 118 and bysending a command, via transceiver 128, to a network accessible trafficservice site to obtain current traffic density. If (at block 804) thecurrent time is within the content time period 208, a current vehiclelocation 504 within the content location 210, and the vehicle trafficdensity value 508 and the content traffic density value 212, i.e., thevehicle attributes satisfy the content packet attributes, then thecontent rendering program 120 initiates (at block 806) a sequence todisplay each content instance 204 ₁ . . . 204 _(n), for a displayduration. Each content instance 204 ₁ . . . 204 _(n) is transmitted (atblock 808) in the sequence to the projector 122 to render on the displayscreen 124 _(i) while the vehicle is in motion, stuck in traffic orparked. A content display time is incremented (at block 810) for eachcontent instance rendered by a time the content instance was rendered onthe display screen 124 _(i).

If (at block 804) the vehicle attribute values, such as current time,vehicle location 504, and vehicle traffic density 508, no longer satisfythe content time period 208, location 210, and traffic density 212requirements, then the content rendering program 120 terminates (atblock 812) transmission of the content to the projector to cease displayof content on the display screen 124 _(i). The content rendering program120 generates (at block 814) a display complete packet indicating thevehicle identifier 502 and for each content instance rendered includedin the acknowledgment packet, the content display time during which thecontent instance was rendered on the display screen 124 _(i). Thedisplay complete packet is transmitted (at block 816) to the contentdistribution system 100.

With the described embodiment of FIG. 8, content is rendered on adisplay screen 124 _(i) coupled to the vehicle 104 _(i) that display thereceived content visible to people external to the vehicle 104 _(i)looking at the display screen 124 _(i), while the driver may be able tosee a rear view of the road through the display screen 124 _(i).Further, the content rendering program 120 in the mobile communicationdevice 118 in the vehicle 104 _(i) further terminates the display of theprovided content if the rendering attributes are not satisfied, such asthe time period during 208 which content is to be displayed, the contentlocation 210 at which the content is to be displayed and/or a vehicletraffic density 508 is not the content traffic density 212 in which thecontent is to be rendered. Described embodiments provide improvedcomputer technology to ensure that content is only rendered if renderingwould satisfy requirements specified by subscribers by having thecontrol of the rendering handled at the vehicle 104 _(i) site.

FIG. 9 illustrates an embodiment of operations performed by the contentdistribution manager 112 upon receiving (at block 900) from a vehicle104 _(i) a complete packet indicating the content display times forcontent instances rendered on the display screen 124 _(i) at the vehicle104 _(i) for a time period 208, location 210, and traffic density 212specified for the rendering. The content distribution manager 112determines (at block 902) a fee associated with a lowest priority valueof all assigned content instances 400 _(i), in the content assignments600, having the same content time period 404, content location 406, andcontent traffic density value 410 as that of the content instancesassigned to the vehicle sending the complete packet. If contentinstances for a same location, time period, and traffic density aredistributed for different priority values, then a subscriber purchasinga higher priority value will only be charged commensurate with thesubscriber purchasing at a lowest priority value who had contentdistributed to vehicles for the same time period, location, and trafficdensity. This ensures that all subscribers are charged a same amount,the fee associated with the lowest priority value having contentdistributed according to the same criteria, e.g., time period, location,and traffic density. Earnings for the vehicle/driver sending thecomplete packet are calculated (at block 904) based on the contentdisplay times and determined fee. The vehicle accrued earnings 510 areincremented (at block 906) by the calculated earnings.

With the embodiment of FIG. 9, even if subscribers paid differentamounts for different priority values for content to render at a sametime period, location, and traffic density, all subscribers having theircontent distributed for the same time period, location, and trafficdensity will be charged the same amount, at the level of the contenthaving a lowest priority value, so that subscribers bidding at higherlevels do not pay more for the same level of content distributionservice. In this way, described embodiments provide improved computertechnology for calculating charges and earnings to subscribers thatensure fairness in the charging of services.

FIG. 10 illustrates an embodiment of operations performed by the contentrendering program 120 to process a brake signal from the brake sensor130 indicating that brakes have been applied, such as through depressionof the brake pedal. Upon detecting (at block 1000) a brake signal, thecontent rendering program 120 continues (at block 1002) to rendercontent from a content package 200 _(i) on the display screen 124 _(i)The content rendering program 120 may further render (at block 1004) abrake notification graphic on the display screen 124 _(i) concurrentlywith rendering the content 204 _(i) on the display screen 124 _(i).

With the embodiment of FIG. 10, if the brake is applied while content isbeing rendered on the display 124 _(i), the content rendering program120 continues to display 124 _(i) the content, but also displays a brakenotification to alert drivers behind the vehicle of application of thebrake to improve safety.

FIGS. 11-16 illustrate a further embodiment where the subscriberinformation 300 comprises subscriber information from a subscriberoperating a digital display screen visible to persons in vehicles intraffic, such as a digital billboard, that displays subscriber content.The subscriber content being displayed may be provided by contentproviders, such as companies wanting to advertise products and serviceson the digital billboard.

FIG. 11 illustrates an embodiment of an instance of subscriberinformation 1100 _(i) maintained by a subscriber operating the billboardor fixed screen, which may be stored in the subscriber database 300, andincludes a subscriber identifier (ID) 1102 identifying the subscriberproviding the information 1100 _(i) and one or more instances of displaycontent 1104 ₁ . . . 1104 _(n), such as advertisements or otherinformation, to render on vehicle display screens 124 _(i) according toa display schedule 1200 contemporaneously during a content time periodwith subscriber content being rendered in a display screen operated bythe subscriber 1102 at a subscriber display location 1106 location; anda display boundary 1108 including the subscriber display location 1106in which vehicles 104 _(i) should display the display content 1104 _(i)during the display schedule 1200. The vehicles 104 _(i) and displayscreen 124 _(i) may be configured and operate as described above.

In one embodiment, the display schedule 1200 may provide a start timeand end time, or content time period, during which the display content1104 _(i) instances are to be rendered in a sequence or other pattern.The display schedule 1200 may provide specific start and end times foreach instance of display content or provide a duration and order duringwhich each display content instance 1104 _(i) is rendered an overallcontent time period. The display content instances 1104 ₁ . . . 1104_(n) may be continually rendered in a loop according to the displayschedule 1200. If there is only one display content 1104 ₁ to render inthe subscriber information 1100 _(i), then the display schedule 1200 maycomprise a start and end times to render that content at a subscriberdisplay screen at the subscriber display location 1106. The displayboundary 1108 may comprise a radius or other geographical fencesurrounding the subscriber display location 1106. The display content1104 _(i) may comprise a digital still image or digital video.

FIG. 12 illustrates an embodiment of the display schedule 1200 asincluding a start time 1202 and end time 1204 (defining a content timeperiod) and one or more instances of display content IDs 1206 ₁ . . .1206 _(n) identifying the display content 1104 ₁ . . . 1104 _(n) and adisplay time 1208 ₁ . . . 1208 _(n) during which the correspondingdisplay content 1206 ₁ . . . 1206 _(n) is to be rendered. The displaycontent instances 1206 _(i) may be rendered continuously in a loop fortheir corresponding display times 1208 _(i) between the start time 1202and end time 1204. Other embodiments of specifying the schedule torender the display content may be provided. The display schedule 1200 isprovided to contemporaneously display the display content at thevehicles 104 _(i) contemporaneously in the content time period withcorresponding subscriber content rendered at a display screen operatedby the subscriber at the subscriber display location 1106.

FIG. 13 illustrates an embodiment of a content packet 1300 havingcontent to generate at the vehicles 104 _(i) that is generated by thecontent distribution manager 112 by processing the subscriberinformation 1100 _(i). The content packet 1300 includes a mobilecommunication device network address 1302 of a vehicle 104 _(i) to whichthe content is targeted; a display boundary 1306, such as displayboundary 1108; a start time 1308, such as start time 1202; an end time1310, such as end time 1024; one or more instances of display content1312 ₁ . . . 1312 _(n) comprising display content 1104 ₁ . . . 1104_(n); and display times 1314 ₁ . . . 1314 _(n) during which thecorresponding display content 1104 ₁ . . . 1104 _(n) is rendered. Thedisplay times 1314 _(i) may comprise specific one or more times duringwhich the corresponding content 1312 i is to be displayed or a timeperiod during which to display the corresponding content 1312 _(i) in aloop between the start time 1308 and end time 1310.

In one embodiment the display schedule 1200 may specify display times sothat the display content 1104 _(i) is rendered contemporaneously withthe corresponding subscriber content during the content time period,between start and end times, on the subscriber display screen at thesubscriber display location 1106. Rendering the subscriber content withthe display content “contemporaneously during the content time period”may refer to the subscriber content and display content at the vehiclesbeing rendered at different times within the content time period orbeing rendered simultaneously within the content time period. Thedisplay content 1104 _(i) may be related to the subscriber content, suchas being the same comment formatted for the vehicle display screen size124 _(i) or content supplements the subscriber content.

FIG. 14 illustrates an embodiment of operations performed by the contentdistribution manager 112 upon receiving (at block 1400) subscriberinformation 11001 with the display content to render. The receivedsubscriber information 1100 _(i) is saved (at block 1402) in thesubscriber database 300.

FIG. 15 illustrates an embodiment of operations performed by the contentdistribution manager 112 to generate a content packet 1300 to distributeto vehicles 104 _(i) to display. Upon detecting (at block 1500) that adisplay schedule 1200 for subscriber information will begin within aspecified time period, the content distribution manager 112 determines(at block 1502) vehicles 104 _(i) within the display boundary 1108 for asubscriber information 1100 _(i) instance in the subscriber database300. Display time 1314 _(i) information is generated (at block 1504)based on the display schedule 1200 in the subscriber information 1100_(i) indicating times to display at the vehicles 104 _(i). The contentdistribution manager 112 generates (at block 1506) a content packet 1300for each of the determined vehicles having, for each determined vehicle,a mobile communication device network address 1304 for the vehicle, thedisplay boundary 1306, start 1308 and end 1310 times for displaying thedisplay content 1312 _(i) and the generated display time information1314 _(i) for the corresponding display content 1312 _(i). The generatedcontent packages 1300 are transmitted (at block 1508) to the determinedvehicles 104 _(i) identified in the content packet to cause the displayof the display content on vehicle display screens 124 _(i) coupled tothe vehicles 104 _(i), as described above, during the start 1308 and end1310 times.

The content distribution manager 112 may periodically perform theoperations of FIG. 15 within the start 1308 and end 1310 times todetermine any additional vehicles within the display boundary 1306 toreceive the content packet 1300. In further embodiments, the contentpacket 1300 may be sent to a predetermined number of vehicles specifiedby the subscriber in the subscriber information 1100 _(i), where thesubscriber pays varying amounts for different numbers of vehicles onwhich to render the display content instances.

FIG. 16 illustrates an embodiment of operations performed by the contentrendering program 120 in the mobile communication device 118 at avehicle 104 _(i) upon receiving a content packet 1300 including displaycontent 1312 _(i) and corresponding display time 1314 _(i) informationand a display boundary 1306 in which the content instances are to berendered. Upon receiving (at block 1600) the content packet 1300, acurrent location of the vehicle 502 may be updated (at block 1602), suchas from the GPS 126 in the mobile communication device 118. If (at block1604) the current time is within the start 1308 and end 1310 times(content time period) and the vehicle 104 _(i) located within thedisplay boundary 1306, then the content rendering program 120 initiates(at block 1606) a sequence to display each content instance 1312 _(i)according to the display times 1314 i, which may specify specific timesor time durations to display. Each content instance 1312 _(i) istransmitted (at block 1608) in the sequence to the projector 122 torender on the display screen 124 _(i) while the vehicle is in motion,stuck in traffic or parked. A content display time is incremented (atblock 1610) for each content instance rendered by a time the contentinstance was rendered on the display screen 124 _(i). If there is onlyone display content 1312 ₁ instance provided in the content packet 1300,then that single display content 1312 ₁ may be rendered during theentire content time period.

If (at block 1604) the vehicle attribute values, such as current timeand vehicle location 504 do not satisfy the start 1308 and end 1310times and display boundary 1306 requirements, then the content renderingprogram 120 terminates or does not initiate (at block 1612) transmissionof the content to the projector to cease display of content on thedisplay screen 124 _(i). The content rendering program 120 generates (atblock 1614) a display complete packet indicating the vehicle identifier502 and for each content instance 1312 _(i) rendered included in theacknowledgment packet, the content display time during which the contentinstance was rendered on the display screen 124 _(i). The displaycomplete packet is transmitted (at block 1616) to the contentdistribution system 100.

With the described embodiment of FIG. 16, content is rendered on adisplay screen 124 _(i) coupled to the vehicle 104 _(i) to display thereceived content visible to people external to the vehicle 104 _(i)looking at the display screen 124 _(i), while the driver may be able tosee a rear view of the road through the display screen 124 _(i).Further, the display content 1312 _(i) is displayed at the vehiclescontemporaneously with the related content being rendered on a displayscreen at a fixed location operated by the subscriber to have thevehicles supplement or repeat the content being rendered in the displayscreen. The display content 1312 _(i) at the vehicles may be displayedconcurrently with the related content being displayed on the subscriberdisplay screen at the subscriber display location 1106 or the displaycontent 1312 _(i) at the vehicles and subscriber content may bedisplayed at different moments within the same content time period(start 1308 and end 1310 times).

Further, the content rendering program 120 in the mobile communicationdevice 118 in the vehicle 104 _(i) further terminates the display of theprovided content 1312 _(i) if the rendering attributes are notsatisfied, such as the time period 1308, 1310 and the display boundary1306. Described embodiments provide improved computer technology toensure that content is displayed at vehicles to provide additionaldisplays of related content for content being rendered at a displayscreen, such as a digital billboard.

The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computerprogram product. The computer program product may include a computerreadable storage medium (or media) having computer readable programinstructions thereon for causing a processor to carry out aspects of thepresent invention.

The computer program product comprises a computer readable storagemedium implemented using standard programming and/or engineeringtechniques to produce software, firmware, hardware, or any combinationthereof. The described operations may be implemented as code or logicmaintained in a “computer readable storage medium”. The term “code” and“program code” as used herein refers to software program code, hardwarelogic, firmware, microcode, etc. The computer readable storage medium,as that term is used herein, includes a tangible, physical element,including at least one of electronic circuitry, storage materials, acasing, a housing, a coating, hardware, and other suitable materials. Acomputer readable storage medium may comprise, but is not limited to, amagnetic storage medium (e.g., hard disk drives, floppy disks, tape,etc.), optical storage (CD-ROMs, DVDs, optical disks, etc.), volatileand non-volatile memory devices (e.g., EEPROMs, ROMs, PROMs, RAMs,DRAMs, SRAMs, Flash Memory, firmware, programmable logic, etc.), SolidState Devices (SSD), computer encoded and readable punch cards, etc. Thecomputer readable storage medium may further comprise a hardware deviceimplementing firmware, microcode, etc., such as in an integrated circuitchip, a programmable logic device, a Programmable Gate Array (PGA),field-programmable gate array (FPGA), Application Specific IntegratedCircuit (ASIC), etc. A computer readable storage medium is not comprisedsolely of transmission signals and includes physical hardware andtangible components. Those skilled in the art will recognize that manymodifications may be made to this configuration without departing fromthe scope of the present invention, and that the article of manufacturemay comprise suitable information bearing medium known in the art.

Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer readable program instructions.

These computer readable program instructions may be provided to aprocessor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, suchthat the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computeror other programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructionsmay also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can directa computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or otherdevices to function in a particular manner, such that the computerreadable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises anarticle of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects ofthe function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram blockor blocks.

The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto acomputer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other deviceto cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer,other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computerimplemented process, such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of theorder noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in successionmay, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of theblock diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocksin the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implementedby special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specifiedfunctions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardwareand computer instructions.

The computational components of FIG. 1, including the contentdistribution system 100 and the mobile communication device 118 may beimplemented in one or more computer systems, having a computerarchitecture as shown in FIG. 17, and including a processor 1702 (e.g.,one or more microprocessors and cores), a memory 1704 (e.g., a volatilememory device), and storage 1706 (e.g., a non-volatile storage, such asmagnetic disk drives, solid state devices (SSDs), optical disk drives, atape drive, etc.). The storage 1706 may comprise an internal storagedevice or an attached or network accessible storage. Programs, includingan operating system 1708 and applications 1710 stored in the storage1706 are loaded into the memory 1704 and executed by the processor 1702.The architecture 1700 further includes a network card 1712 to enablecommunication with the network 102, which may comprise a wirelessnetwork, e.g., cellular, WI-FI™, BLUETOOTH® or a wired network. An inputdevice 1714 is used to provide user input to the processor 1702, and mayinclude a keyboard, mouse, pen-stylus, microphone, touch sensitivedisplay screen, or any other activation or input mechanism known in theart. An output device 1716, such as a display monitor, printer, storage,etc., is capable of rendering information transmitted from a graphicscard or other component. The output device 1716 may render the GUIsdescribed with respect to figures and the input device 1714 may be usedto interact with the graphical controls and elements in the GUIsdescribed above. The architecture 1700 may be implemented in any numberof computing devices, such as a server, mainframe, desktop computer,laptop computer, hand held computer, tablet computer, personal digitalassistant (PDA), telephony device, cell phone, etc.

The terms “an embodiment”, “embodiment”, “embodiments”, “theembodiment”, “the embodiments”, “one or more embodiments”, “someembodiments”, and “one embodiment” mean “one or more (but not all)embodiments of the present invention(s)” unless expressly specifiedotherwise.

The terms “including”, “comprising”, “having” and variations thereofmean “including but not limited to”, unless expressly specifiedotherwise.

The enumerated listing of items does not imply that any or all of theitems are mutually exclusive, unless expressly specified otherwise.

The terms “a”, “an” and “the” mean “one or more”, unless expresslyspecified otherwise.

Devices that are in communication with each other need not be incontinuous communication with each other, unless expressly specifiedotherwise. In addition, devices that are in communication with eachother may communicate directly or indirectly through one or moreintermediaries.

A description of an embodiment with several components in communicationwith each other does not imply that all such components are required. Onthe contrary a variety of optional components are described toillustrate the wide variety of possible embodiments of the presentinvention.

When a single device or article is described herein, it will be readilyapparent that more than one device/article (whether or not theycooperate) may be used in place of a single device/article. Similarly,where more than one device or article is described herein (whether ornot they cooperate), it will be readily apparent that a singledevice/article may be used in place of the more than one device orarticle or a different number of devices/articles may be used instead ofthe shown number of devices or programs. The functionality and/or thefeatures of a device may be alternatively embodied by one or more otherdevices which are not explicitly described as having suchfunctionality/features. Thus, other embodiments of the present inventionneed not include the device itself.

The foregoing description of various embodiments of the invention hasbeen presented for the purposes of illustration and description. It isnot intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the preciseform disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in lightof the above teaching. It is intended that the scope of the invention belimited not by this detailed description, but rather by the claimsappended hereto. The above specification, examples and data provide acomplete description of the manufacture and use of the composition ofthe invention. Since many embodiments of the invention can be madewithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, theinvention resides in the claims herein after appended.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer program product for determiningcontent to transmit to vehicles to render on vehicle display screens,the computer program product comprising a non-transitory computerreadable storage medium having computer readable program code embodiedtherein that is executable to perform operations, the operationscomprising: maintaining, in a vehicle database, vehicle informationindicating, for each vehicle of a plurality of vehicles, a vehiclelocation value; maintaining, in a subscription database, subscriberinformation for a subscriber, indicating display content to render atvehicles, a content time period, a subscriber display location at whichthe subscriber renders subscriber content contemporaneously with thedisplay content to render at vehicles during the content time period,and a display boundary including the subscriber display location,wherein the display content is to be rendered at vehicles located withinthe display boundary; determining vehicles having a vehicle locationwithin the display boundary; and transmitting, to each receiving vehicleof the determined vehicles, a content package having the displaycontent, the display boundary, and the content time period to cause eachreceiving vehicle to render the display content on a vehicle displayscreen coupled to the receiving vehicle contemporaneously with renderingthe subscriber content at the subscriber display location in response tothe receiving vehicle determining that a current time is within thecontent time period and the receiving vehicle is within the displayboundary.
 2. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein thedisplay content is rendered at the determined vehicles simultaneouslyduring the content time period with the subscriber content rendered atthe subscriber display location.
 3. The computer program product ofclaim 1, wherein the display content comprises first display content torender contemporaneously during the content time period with firstsubscriber content rendered at the subscriber display location andsecond display content to render contemporaneously during the contenttime period with second subscriber content at the subscriber displaylocation, wherein the transmitting the content package causes thedetermined vehicles to alternate between rendering the first displaycontent and the second display content to contemporaneously renderduring the content time period the first and second display content withthe rendering of the first and second subscriber content, respectively,at the subscriber display location.
 4. The computer program product ofclaim 1, wherein the display content comprises at least one of samecontent as the subscriber content formatted for rendering on the vehicledi splay screens and information supplementing the sub scriber content.5. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the content packagecauses the determined vehicles to terminate rendering the displaycontent on the vehicle display screens in response to the determinedvehicles being located outside the display boundary.
 6. The computerprogram product of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:receiving the subscriber information from the subscriber over a network,wherein the subscriber operates a display screen at the subscriberdisplay location to display the subscriber content to trafficcontemporaneously during the content time period with the rendering ofthe display content at the vehicle display screens.
 7. The computerprogram product of claim 6, wherein the received subscriber informationincludes multiple instances of display content related to multipleinstances of subscriber content and a display schedule to have themultiple instances of display content rendered at the vehicle displayscreens contemporaneously during the content time period with renderingthe multiple instances of the subscriber content at the display screenat the subscriber display location.
 8. The computer program product ofclaim 7, wherein the operations further comprise: processing the displayschedule to generate display time information for each instance of thedisplay content to cause the multiple instances of display content to berendered at the vehicle display screens contemporaneously during thecontent time period with rendering the multiple instances of thesubscriber content at the display screen at the subscriber displaylocation.
 9. A system for determining content to transmit to vehicles torender on vehicle display screens, comprising: a processor; and acomputer readable storage medium having computer readable program codeembodied therein that when executed by the processor causes operations,the operations comprising: maintaining, in a vehicle database, vehicleinformation indicating, for each vehicle of a plurality of vehicles, avehicle location value; maintaining, in a subscription database,subscriber information for a subscriber, indicating display content torender at vehicles, a content time period, a subscriber display locationat which the subscriber renders subscriber content contemporaneouslywith the display content to render at vehicles during the content timeperiod, and a display boundary including the subscriber displaylocation, wherein the display content is to be rendered at vehicleslocated within the display boundary; determining vehicles having avehicle location within the display boundary; and transmitting, to eachreceiving vehicle of the determined vehicles, a content package havingthe display content, the display boundary, and the content time periodto cause each receiving vehicle to render the display content on avehicle display screen coupled to the receiving vehiclecontemporaneously with rendering the subscriber content at thesubscriber display location in response to the receiving vehicledetermining that a current time is within the content time period andthe receiving vehicle is within the display boundary.
 10. The system ofclaim 9, wherein the display content is rendered at the determinedvehicles simultaneously during the content time period with thesubscriber content rendered at the subscriber display location.
 11. Thesystem of claim 9, wherein the display content comprises at least one ofsame content as the subscriber content formatted for rendering on thevehicle display screens and information supplementing the subscribercontent.
 12. The system of claim 9, wherein the operations furthercomprise: receiving the subscriber information from the subscriber overa network, wherein the subscriber operates a display screen at thesubscriber display location to display the subscriber content to trafficcontemporaneously during the content time period with the rendering ofthe display content at the vehicle display screens.
 13. The system ofclaim 12, wherein the received subscriber information includes multipleinstances of display content related to multiple instances of subscribercontent and a display schedule to have the multiple instances of displaycontent rendered at the vehicle display screens contemporaneously duringthe content time period with rendering the multiple instances of thesubscriber content at the display screen at the subscriber displaylocation.
 14. The system of claim 13, wherein the operations furthercomprise: processing the display schedule to generate display timeinformation for each instance of the display content to cause themultiple instances of display content to be rendered at the vehicledisplay screens contemporaneously during the content time period withrendering the multiple instances of the subscriber content at thedisplay screen at the subscriber display location.
 15. A method fordetermining content to transmit to vehicles to render on a vehicledisplay screens, comprising: maintaining, in a vehicle database, vehicleinformation indicating, for each vehicle of a plurality of vehicles, avehicle location value; maintaining, in a subscription database,subscriber information for a subscriber, indicating display content torender at vehicles, a content time period, a subscriber display locationat which the subscriber renders subscriber content contemporaneouslywith the display content to render at vehicles during the content timeperiod, and a display boundary including the subscriber displaylocation, wherein the display content is to be rendered at vehicles;determining vehicles having a vehicle location within the displayboundary; and transmitting, to each receiving vehicle of the determinedvehicles a content package having the display content, the displayboundary, and the content time period to cause each receiving vehicle torender the display content on a vehicle display screen coupled to thereceiving vehicle contemporaneously with rendering the subscribercontent at the subscriber display location in response to the receivingvehicle determining that a current time is within the content timeperiod and the receiving vehicle is within the display boundary.
 16. Themethod of claim 15, wherein the display content is rendered at thedetermined vehicles simultaneously during the content time period withthe subscriber content rendered at the subscriber display location. 17.The method of claim 15, wherein the display content comprises at leastone of same content as the subscriber content formatted for rendering onthe vehicle display screens and information supplementing the subscribercontent.
 18. The method of claim 15, further comprising: receiving thesubscriber information from the subscriber over a network, wherein thesubscriber operates a display screen at the subscriber display locationto display the subscriber content to traffic contemporaneously duringthe content time period with the rendering of the display content at thevehicle display screens.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein thereceived subscriber information includes multiple instances of displaycontent related to multiple instances of subscriber content and adisplay schedule to have the multiple instances of display contentrendered at the vehicle display screens contemporaneously during thecontent time period with rendering the multiple instances of thesubscriber content at the display screen at the subscriber displaylocation.
 20. The method of claim 19, further comprising: processing thedisplay schedule to generate display time information for each instanceof the display content to cause the multiple instances of displaycontent to be rendered at the vehicle display screens contemporaneouslyduring the content time period with rendering the multiple instances ofthe subscriber content at the display screen at the subscriber displaylocation.